Almost half of all men are trimming or shaving their leg hair – why?

The results reflect a real-world trend for manscaping

Why are so many men lathering up their legs for a clean shave? (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Almost half of men admit to trimming or shaving their leg hair - an eyebrow raising admission, even for a generation of spornosexual manscapers.

Male hair trimming that rarely concerns body hair south of the border, unless you’re a professional swimmer or cyclist - but these days average Joes everywhere are taking razors to their hairy pins.

Surveying their Facebook followers, Men’s Health found that while the majority of men are not completely shaving their legs, a surprising 15 per cent are, while a further 33 per cent admitted: “I don’t shave clean, but I do use a trimmer to cut it down”. That’s nearly half of the men polled that are tackling their leg hair in some way or form - but why?

Following the fruition of the metrosexual, its initiator Mark Simpson has coined the next stage in its evolution as the spornosexual; a group of men who strive to look like sportsmen or porn stars. Perhaps this tendency towards smooth-shaven buffness is behind men becoming body conscious.

On the back of its initial survey, sister publication Women’s Health jumped on the bushy bandwagon asking their Facebook followers, “What do you think about guys shaving their legs?” The results showed that nearly 30 per cent of women “like a man who trims leg hair down” and 22 percent “love a man with clean shaven legs”. That’s more than half the women surveyed that responded to legscaping positively, but it’s a divisive subject.

One Reddit poll which proposed the same question proved that while the number of men seeking leg hair removal is rising, some women just don’t like it.

“I think I'd be weirded out by another set of smooth legs touching me” one user said, while another responded: "I think I'd really need a functional reason, because I like hair on my men.”

The internet is awash with guides on how men can achieve the ultimate slippery smooth physique but does anybody truly care?

Just as with women, body hair removal is a personal decision so if you’re a guy and like your legs to feel super soft and shiny then keep on keeping on.